Teacher 'attacked pupil over Chuckle Brothers jibe'

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Jonathan Burrett

A teacher irritated by a pupil's taunts that he looked like one of the Chuckle Brothers allegedly snapped and attacked the 13-year-old in front of his classmates.

Jonathan Burrett, 42, had been repeatedly mocked by pupils who thought that, with his moustache and spiky hairstyle, he bore a resemblance to children's comedian Barry Elliot.

A court heard that the supply teacher reacted when a boy sang the theme tune of the TV programme ChuckleVision during a technology class at the comprehensive in Torfaen, South Wales.

In an attempt to get the boy to stop, the prosecution claim father-of-one Burrett repeatedly hit him on the back, leaving him badly bruised.

As the Chuckle Brothers, Barry and Paul Elliot have become a highly-successful comedy partnership.

Their ChuckleVision show has appeared on Children's BBC for the past 20 years and their catchphrase "to me, to you" is a playground favourite. But Cardiff Crown Court heard Burrett failed to see the funny side of the comparison.

Prosecutor Hywel Hughes said: "The boy was told to stop. It is alleged the teacher then grabbed him and hit him four times to the back and then grabbed him by his shirt."

A doctor examined the boy and discovered fingertip-sized bruises on his back.

The boy admitted singing the ChuckleVision tune but said "quite a few" pupils were humming it and he did not know why he was singled out.

One schoolgirl claimed Burrett "got mad".

She said: "The teacher said, 'We've got a funny one here, have we?' He was whacking him on the back at the same time."

The court heard that the boy told Burrett to "**** off" and ran from class. He went to the head and deputy who saw red marks on his neck and back.

Deputy headmistress Edna Fear said: "He did say he had tried to hit the teacher."

When he appeared at court Burrett, of Newport in Gwent, had shaved off his moustache. He pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

Burrett, a teacher for five years, said the pupils were singing the ChuckleVision tune when they came in. He asked them to be quiet but one continued singing and was rocking on his chair.

The teacher claimed he had asked the boy to stop and gave him a "friendly" pat on the back, then tried to push the chair on to all four legs.

He said: "He swung at me and in one motion removed my arm. He said, 'Get off me you ******. You can't touch me'.

"He was resisting my attempts to put the chair back on the floor. My hands were on the chair. My hands would probably have been touching him."